Acts 6;:8-7:1 - Shining Witness

Stephen was probably a Hellenist, one of the seven deacons appointed to assist in the administration of the ration to the widows. His name in Greek means "a crown or a laurel which an athlete would receive on winning a race." 

What a fitting name for this first martyr of the church! Truly, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church! His witness stands as a shinning example on how to live and serve the Lord.  Like the Lord Jesus, Stephen was described as full of grace and power.  

The word grace tells us God used him to show the people His riches. Stephen's life truly touched the people he ministered to. Even the Sanhedrin, who did not know the source of his grace, admitted that his face was like that of an angel. 

He was also full of power. God's power!  That's why he could perform great wonders and signs among the people.  He was a real great and powerful witness for the Lord.

The opposition he encountered came from the Synagogue of the Freedmen, meaning they were people or desendents of those who were no longer slaves. Being a Hellenist. the people he addressed were mostly from abroad, comprising "Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia," 

Notice Stephen was also full of wisdom. Hence the people who opposed him couldn't cope with his wisdom. And this wisdom, Luke tells us, finds it's source in the Spirit of God.

Disagreeing with his message, those opposers instigated men to report to the authorities and spreading lies about his teachings. Stephen was purported to have blasphemed against Moses and against God. The people, the elders and the scribes were so stirred up that they came and dragged him to face the Sanhedrin council.  

Like the trial that the Lord Jesus faced, they also put forward false witnesses against Stephen.  They came accusing  him of saying Jesus would destroy the temple and change the custom that Moses had handed down. 

The focus had now been turned on this bold  witness of the Lord. Vividly, we can imagine all eyes in that court were upon Stephen. In the centre of the court, he stood in the witness stand with his face glowing like an angel.  Nowhere else in the Bible is this comparison made.

Bear in mind that this was a mockery of a trial. On hearing the accusation, the high priest simply asked in Acts 7:1, " Are all these accusations true?"  

This Stephen shows us how to be an effective witness for the Lord. His was a life full of grace and wisdom. To share Stephen's effectiveness, we too need the  grace and wisdom that God would give to His witnesses.

John's Gospel tells us that grace and truth, the wisdom of God come only through a deep abiding in Christ. There is no substitute. We need Him. We need to stay  connected to Him. For it is out of His overflow that we all receive the fullness of His grace and truth.